Bonnie's Family Tree Chapter 1
by azurefang
Summary: I thought I would try a different kind of story for a change. Bonnie wonders about her Bennett ancestors. Includes Damon, Stefan and Klaus.
1. Chapter 1

Bonnie's Family Tree

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries does not belong to me. Original characters are mine.

A/N I thought I would try something different from my other stories. This one is not very long, but it is very much something Bonnie is interested in. The story takes place after Esther's failed attempt to kill her children with a spell, but it is before Klaus makes Bonnie break the spell that ties the siblings together. She actually has time to think about something that is not dangerous for a change. Warning: the subject of slavery is discussed.

Chapter 1

Bonnie sat at her computer and stared at the screen. Information about her grandmother was right there in front of her. Sheila's date of birth, her parents' names, the date of her marriage, of her death, where she was buried. It was amazing. Who had taken the time to put that in the records? Of course, some of the information had been on Sheila's death certificate. Bonnie herself had provided some of the information, but the truth was, she had not known Sheila's father's name. But here it was on the screen.

Bonnie's interest in genealogy had been piqued once again just days ago after talking to one of her classmates, an African American boy named Tayvon. He and his mother had been tracing their family tree. His mother's ancestors went back through many generations of free blacks in Massachusetts and in New York state. During the 1600's some of the family had arrived in the colonies as slaves, but they had been freed by their owner. Tayvon had not yet tackled his father's family tree.

Now Bonnie felt a need to find out something about her own background. Neither of her parents had offered any insight into their ancestors. She had known two grandparents: her mother's mother Sheila Bennett and her father's father William Hopkins. Both of these people were now gone from her life, having passed away. Abby, her mother, was who-knew-where?

Tayvon had told her there was a wealth of information in the various genealogy sites, plus the census records, military records, cemetery lists and more. Bonnie was just getting started and as yet she really didn't know where to look for information. In addition, she knew that if any of her family members had been slaves, there might be no way to find a person's name.

"Dad, didn't Abby ever talk about her ancestors?" Bonnie asked her father, who was deep in reading the daily newspaper. It was odd to have him home because he often travelled for periods of time doing what he did.

"Her what?" he asked. He finally looked at his daughter.

"Her ancestors. You know, her grandparents. Great grandparents. That sort of thing," Bonnie said.

"Not really. Why?"

"I want to work out my family tree. Where I come from. Who my ancestors were."

"I imagine Abby's distant family members were like mine. Slaves, Bonnie. Generations of them. I don't even want to think about it. Let it go, girl," the man said. He returned his attention to the newspaper.

"Not all of today's Blacks are descended from slaves, Dad," Bonnie persisted. She had never heard her father speak of his ancestors. The fact that they had been slaves was no great surprise, considering the South's history. She did know that both Sheila and Grandad Hopkins on her father's side had been born in Virginia. So was Abby. So was the man sitting there reading his newspaper. This was a Virginia family.

"Well, I am," he said in answer to his daughter's comment. "So, you are. I don't know about your mother or Sheila, but I would bet they go back to slaves. Their features are not strongly African nor are yours. You carry white blood, you know, more from the Bennett line than my own," he said. With a snort, he muttered, "The Bennett name probably comes from some slave owner, so I don't know why the Bennett name is so damned important."

"Yes, you do, Dad," she said patiently. "It's because we are you-know-what."

This was not the first time she had heard her father express resentment over the Bennett name, but this time he seemed to be voicing disgust. There was no question that he disliked the practice of magic. There was no doubt that he had known Abby was a witch when he married her, but Bonnie knew love had overridden his feelings about that. Perhaps he had hoped a normal life as a wife and mother would keep her from the witchcraft. In the end, it had not.

He was Rudy Hopkins. He was not a Bennett. It was a name the Bennett women kept for generations regardless of marriages. Bonnie knew from her grandmother that it was passed down from mother to daughter. Rarely to a son. Although she had not known the truth in her childhood, she was now well aware that it represented a line of Bennett witches. And that line included her.

Her mother had run off some fifteen years or so ago and then she had divorced Rudy. Bonnie had been raised after that by her grandmother Sheila Bennett in Sheila's home. Sheila's husband, whom Bonnie never knew, was named Clive Jackson and he had died as a soldier during the Korean War.

Bonnie's father had often been away following his own dreams. He also distanced himself on purpose from the witch Sheila. Unfortunately, this distanced himself from his own daughter.

Rudy and Abby did not have any other children besides Bonnie, although Bonnie had learned that Abby had wanted more children. But after Abby used all her power to disable the Original Vampire Mikael, she had run away from her own mother, her husband and her little daughter. For fifteen years there had been no real connection between them. Now, Abby was gone again.

With no mother present and Sheila dead, Bonnie now lived with her father, who was not really interested in parenting at this stage_._ He felt Bonnie was old enough to look out for herself so that he didn't feel neglectful if he left town now and then. He had made sure there was always money in the bank that Bonnie had access to, and he had showed her how to pay things like the light bill. For the last year Bonnie had been quite self-sufficient and responsible for such things whenever her father was away.

As a child and younger teen, Bonnie had not been interested in her family background, not nearly as much as her grandmother Sheila had wanted her to be. One reason was because the girl had not known about witches or that she would become a witch. She hadn't known that her grandmother would die less than a year after she showed Bonnie that she already had some small powers.

The teenager really regretted not having had more meaningful conversations with her grandmother about ancestors and about witchcraft. She had always known that Sheila had some old books, some with tattered leather covers, some with odd drawings. As a child she had thought they were some sort of weird story books, but her grandmother wouldn't read them to her. Later, Bonnie was not interested. That had changed more recently.

School and her close friends were the big things for the girl, even when she was younger. She loved to read and learn. She was a smart girl. Except for math. She was not good at math.

Despite being a pretty girl with mocha coloring, she was quiet and shy, She hadn't gone out for cheerleading like her best friend Elena. She wasn't exuberant like her next best friend Caroline. She wasn't into sports, but she was good at some video games. Was that a sport? And she was a speed-reader. She could devour books.

Since becoming an active witch over a year ago, she had become involved in one dramatic episode after another involving vampires and werewolves, not to mention witches and ghosts. It was all the kind of thing her father pretended didn't exist.

"Did you hear me?" her father now asked, snapping Bonnie back from the wondering thoughts she had just been having.

"Uh, no, Dad. I was deep in thought, I guess. Sorry."

"I asked if you were determined to delve into the family tree."

"Yes. I'm going to try, anyway. Will you help me where you can?"

"I suppose so. I know a fair amount about my kin. Do your mother's side first, if you can."

"All right. I'll see what I can find out."

A/N I hope you all find this interesting as I write more. I know, so far it has little to do with the Bennett side of her family tree, but it will.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N I am pleased readers have shown an interest in this story, so I will continue to write it. Thanks, you guys, for reading, following and commenting.

"Emily"

Bonnie had seriously wondered about her family tree when the ghost Emily Bennett came into her life. Emily had lived back in the time of the American Civil War, the War Between the States. She had died back then also. As a ghost, she had entered Bonnie's body, so that Elena, Caroline and Damon Salvatore had had the chance to talk to her. The experience had been scary for Bonnie. A ghost literally took over her body! And more than once!

Bonnie knew that Emily and the group of witches she associated with were no longer in the old abandoned mansion. They might return, but Bonnie was not on good terms with them. And even if they came back and made their presence known to her, she wasn't able to talk with Emily, not like Elena and Caroline had done. Emily must know something about the Bennett line.

More recently, Bonnie had made contact with her missing mother Abby. Although her mother claimed to have lost her powers, still, she had agreed to help Bonnie and she had regained enough power to accomplish what they set out to do. Now, because of Damon Salvatore, Abby was a vampire and no longer a witch. This turn of events had upset and angered both Bonnie and Abby. Once again, the mother had abandoned her daughter. And Bonnie had not used their brief time together to question her mother. Her ancestry had not been on her mind at the time.

Still, prior to her leaving, a brief conversation between mother and daughter had increased Bonnie's interest in her family tree. The mother reaffirmed that the name Bennett had been passed down generation to generation, regardless of marriages. Bonnie, her mother Abby and her grandmother Sheila were all Bennetts and all three women had witch's powers.

Having "met" Emily's ghost, Bonnie now knew that even back in the 1860's, the witches had the Bennett name. In doing her limited research on the Internet, Bonnie could find out nothing about Emily except her date of death, age unknown. However, she knew that the vampires Damon and Stefan Salvatore had actually known Emily when she was alive.

Bonnie didn't like vampires. She considered them demons and damned. It was hard for her to think of them as "dead", though, because Damon, Stefan, Klaus and his siblings all walked in the daylight and were humanly emotional. They seemed very much alive. And certainly so did Bonnie's friend Caroline, a new vampire. They were all flesh and blood people.

The brothers had agreed to have a chat. Well, actually it had been Stefan whom Bonnie had spoken to briefly. Bonnie had mentioned that she was interested in what they knew about Emily and he had agreed to tell her what he knew. He said Damon would likely be there also. She told him Elena would accompany her. She had already cleared this with Elena. She knew the brothers were always ready to see Elena, since they both seemed to be in love with her.

The afternoon after speaking with her father, and in between the disasters that seemed to be constantly happening, Bonnie and Elena went to the Salvatore house. Although Bonnie and Elena had been friends forever, Bonnie was quite annoyed with Elena these days. Damon would not have turned Abby into a vampire if it were not for another of Elena's never-ending dramas, but that was a whole different story. For now, Bonnie was willing to go speak with the brothers with Elena along for support.

They drove together in Elena's car and the young men welcomed them at the large Salvatore house. Bonnie intended to be civil, even though Damon was forever doing things that annoyed her, or worse, put her in a frightening situation. He often annoyed her on purpose, but he could be oh-so-nice when he wanted her to cast some spell or other. It was Bonnie and her spells that often rescued these so-called friends from disaster. There were times when she felt like that was all she meant to them.

Despite the fact that she occasionally despised Damon, once in a while she sort of liked or admired him, although she didn't like to admit it to herself, and she certainly wouldn't tell him that. He was so arrogant. She was sure he thought he was God's gift to women and he didn't like that she felt otherwise. She knew it was an affront to him when she rebuffed any snarky remarks he made. She usually made some come-back remark to put him in his place. If she was really ticked off at him, she gave his a nasty ruptured-aneurysm headache. It gave her a wee sense of pride to know he was, deep inside, wary of her.

Her relationship with Stefan was somewhat better. He was not one to be sarcastic, confrontational or manipulative. For the most part, he was a nice guy, for a vampire. That was not to say he didn't hesitate to seek Bonnie out when her special abilities were in need.

In a few minutes the four of them were sitting in the living room on the couches that faced each other. It was a cool night and there was a fire in the fireplace. The two girls were on one of the sofas, while the guys were slouched on the other.

Bonnie wondered if Elena and Stefan had ironed out their differences enough to want to be sitting together. If so, neither of them said so. The girls opted for soft drinks, while the brothers had bourbon. The boys had provided sweet goodies to munch on.

"So, Miss Witchy, what is it you wanted to know about Emily?" Damon asked, raising his eyebrows. "Something about your ancestors?" A teasing smile touched his lips.

"I'm doing some genealogy, so I'm trying to learn something about my family tree. Emily was a Bennett witch, right? And you two knew her when she was alive."

Both young men nodded.

Stefan spoke up. "Emily arrived at our home when Katherine did in the late summer of 1864. She was Katherine's servant. She kept her company and traveled with her. Helped her dress. Took care of her clothes and things."

"Had they known each other for a long time? I mean, Emily was human, so she couldn't have known Katherine too long," Bonnie said. She knew that during the Civil War, Katherine was a three- hundred-year-old vampire, almost four hundred, actually.

"I think Emily was about eighteen or nineteen in 1864 when they were at our place. Katherine had bought her at a slave auction in New Orleans," Stefan said after a sip of his drink.

"What?" Bonnie asked, shocked. Somehow, she had not considered that.

"Emily was about fifteen when Katherine spotted her at a slave auction. They did that sort of thing back in those days, Bonnie," Stefan said. "Katherine was looking for a girl to be her servant, a lady's maid, and she liked the looks of Emily. In fact, Katherine compelled one man to prevent him from buying the girl and she had the money to outbid someone else. She told me this, which is why I know."

"Oh my God!" Bonnie breathed. "That's awful. I can't imagine what that poor girl must have gone through! Was she shipped over from Africa on some terrible boat?"

She certainly had read how native Africans were captured, sometimes by other native Africans, and sold to men who would take then by ship to the Americas. It was not unusual for some of these captives, chained in the ship's hold, to die. Once in the ports in the Caribbean or on the mainland of North or South America, they were auctioned off into slavery. As slaves, they were considered property like horses or cattle. If owners considered them human beings at all, they were considered to be very inferior and not worthy of rights.

Bonnie also knew that whatever individual names the Africans had had in their homeland, they were often given new names by their owners. The white buyers also never gave thought to whether the slave had family back in Africa or what social position he or she might have had in the village. It no longer mattered.

"No. She was born in the United States," Stefan explained. "She was raised as a house servant on a plantation a little west of New Orleans that went bankrupt when the owner got sick and died. Everything was auctioned off, including the slaves."

"That is so terrible," Bonnie said, shaking her head. "They had no rights, no say in what was to happen to them."

"I expect it was not very good for the lady of the house, either. She may have ended up homeless," Damon said. "White women didn't have a lot of rights back then when it came to money and property."

"I suppose not," Bonnie said, nodding slightly. "Where was Emily's mother?"

It was Damon who answered that question. "Emily told me her mother was a house servant at the same plantation. She also told me that her mother was a witch. The woman died of some disease when the girl was still quite young. The plantation owner kept Emily as a house servant, which is what she had been learning to be. The lady of the house secretly taught Emily to read and write a little. The fact that the mother was a witch and that the girl had that potential were secrets kept from the land owner and his family."

"It was common for slaves to have no last names in those days, but Emily and her mother had the name Bennett," Stefan said. "I believe even the mother was born in America."

"Do you know her first name? Maybe there are records," Bonnie said.

"No," Stefan said, shaking his head. "If she insisted on the Bennett name, she may have been called Bennett and that may be in the records."

"There are census records and property records," Damon said. "Slaves were listed. They were listed for the 1860 Census just by sex and age in what was called the Slave Schedule, I think. I know my father had to list all of his by name, age and sex in the books he kept of farm business."

Stefan spoke up again. "I helped my father do his ledger books when I was a teenager. I was well aware of how many slaves there were living on our farm. Both house servants and field hands, males and females. There were a few children born to them."

"So, you all were slave owners," Bonnie asked, not totally surprised. She knew the brothers were born on a farm or plantation near Mystic Falls before the Civil War. Of course, they must have had slaves.

"Yes," Damon said. "Father was. He had field hands for the hay and wheat fields. Men who took care of the animals. A stableman. And house servants. Stefan and I had a nanny who was a wonderful person. She was with us from when I was a baby. I think she was about fifteen when Father bought her and she came to our house. She also took care of our mother, who was in poor health years later. When Lincoln freed the slaves, our father offered to pay his if they would stay on. Most of the field hands left except a few who agreed to be share croppers. Most of the house servants stayed."

"And Silas the stableman," Stefan said, nodding.

"Slavery didn't bother you as boys?" Bonnie asked. How could they have condoned it?

"Bonnie, we were young," Stefan said. "It was the life we grew up in. The only time it bothered me was when a slave was whipped."

"Hell, our father hit and whipped me, too," Damon said with a snort. "And I wasn't even a slave."

Bonnie thought she saw a look of discomfort fleetingly cross Damon's face and she wondered if he regretted uttering that comment. Or perhaps it was just his reaction to the memory.

"Why would he do that?" Elena asked. She had had almost nothing to say during this conversation but she had paid attention.

"We didn't get along," Damon said with a sneer and a shrug of his shoulders.

Bonnie thought that Damon's father probably didn't like his snarky attitude, if in fact he had had that attitude when he was a teenager. It would not have surprised her at all.

"Did you have a slave or two yourself," she asked him, knowing he had been an adult during the war and by the time he became a vampire.

"Me personally? No," Damon said. "I was in college and then I was in the army."

"What happened to Emily?" she finally asked. "I mean, after Lincoln and the 13th Amendment freed the slaves?"

"She was freed by the same law that freed other slaves, of course, but she kept on being Katherine's servant," Damon said. "For one thing, the two of them were really close friends. She knew, of course, what Katherine was, and Katherine had nurtured Emily's education and witchcraft skills. When Katherine was captured and supposedly killed in the church fire, Emily helped her to escape, as we now know. That damned Katherine didn't bother to tell me or Stefan that she was still alive and free. Emily didn't let us know, either. I don't know why Emily didn't go away with Katherine."

"If Emily is one of my ancestors, then she must have had a baby," Bonnie said, frowning, deep in thought. "Do either of you know about that?"

Damon shook his head and said, "I have no idea."

"Seems to me Katherine mentioned that Emily did have a baby," Stefan said, also frowning as he tried to remember. "But no baby was with Katherine and Emily when they came to our farm. I don't know if it died or if it survived If it lived, I don't know what happened to it. It may be in some record."

"Maybe you wrote something about it in one of your journals," Elena volunteered.

"Maybe," Stefan said. "I don't think so." He didn't say he would peruse his many journals to check for any such mention of it.

"The next time you see Katherine, you should ask her," Damon said. "I'm sure she knows."

"You know, it's possible that Emily or her mother had a sister or two, who would also be a Bennett and perhaps a witch," Stefan said. "Your ancestral line could lead to one of them, rather than to Emily."

"I hadn't thought of that," Bonnie said. "I would think that because she took over my body, that would indicate that I was a descendant of hers. Emily's ghost is tied to this area. She had to have died here."

The others nodded in agreement. They all knew the ghost was with the others at the old mansion ruins not far away. Or they had been. They had died in the area and were not able to go far from the ruins.

Elena spoke up, "Esther mentioned that a Bennett witch had helped her with the spell to turn her family into vampires. That was a _long_ time ago. That means that Klaus must know something about that. You should talk to him, Bonnie."

"Esther did say that," Bonnie nodded. "And we are talking about a _really_ long time ago! So, I have to talk to Klaus."

"Preferably before we kill him and his siblings," Damon said with a snort.

A/N I don't know what has been written about Emily's background, so I just went with my own ideas. Hope you all liked it. Feel free to comment.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N I feel I should take the time to comment here on what I have written and the responses I have received. Please keep in mind that I am not an historian. I have to look stuff up. I don't necessarily get the facts right. Also, what I write does not always convey the exact thoughts I am having.

I want to thank everyone who has been reading, following and commenting. I know the subject of chapter 2 is about slavery, which is a racially touchy matter. Regardless of your race, sex or nationality, I'm sure you each have an opinion about it and it may be a strong opinion.

I apologize if my choice of some words were offensive to anyone. What African Americans choose to call themselves varies. Personally, I dislike the "N" word very much.

Also, please remember that Bonnie was talking to two white men who grew up in a family of slave owners. As children and youths they gave no thought to where the slaves came from, how badly their lives were disrupted or the conditions in which they lived and died under slavery. Although some slaves really were treated decently, that didn't negate the fact that they were slaves. A huge number of the rest were treated with indifference, neglect or cruelty and many died of it.

The views of Damon and Stefan of African Americans have certainly evolved over the years because they also lived during Reconstruction, long years of Segregation and then Integration. Like the Black people, they had to adjust their original ideas and feelings through those periods and on into today. The brothers no longer condone slavery or segregation, of course. They gave up that kind of thinking a long time ago. They know discrimination exists even today, and many kinds of slavery still exist, including victims of the sex trade and some migrant workers.

In my story Damon mentioned that white women sometimes lost their homes because women had fewer rights than they do today. That was a problem for white women for a long time, and I don't mean just the voting issue. It was something Damon was aware of and felt like mentioning. I'm sure Bonnie felt no sympathy for those women during the discussion because she was outraged over the slavery issue.

Lastly, there were slaves in the North as well as in the South. There were people in both the North and the South who strongly wanted to abolish slavery. It was a huge issue, both morally and financially, and a terrible war was fought over it.

Okay, I'm finished with my lecture. On with the story.

"What To Do Next"

Elena drove Bonnie home.

"Well, what did you think?" Elena asked as she pulled into the driveway. "Did you get the information you had hoped for?"

Bonnie was staring straight ahead, deep in thought, and not really interested in discussing it with Elena.

"Yes, I guess so. All that about the slaves was disturbing," she admitted.

"I know."

Bonnie didn't think Elena could truly relate to that part of the past because it didn't involve her family. Or did it?

"You had family here in Mystic Falls back then. Did they own slaves?"

"My understanding is that Jonathan Gilbert didn't own slaves. However, he did have Irish indentured servants."

"There's a difference," Bonnie stated. A big difference, she thought.

"I know. It was understood that if the servants worked off their debt, then they were free. According to one of Jonathan's journals, the older married couple stayed on as employees of the Gilberts. The daughter left to seek employment or a husband elsewhere."

"Do you think Damon's father really took a whip to him," Bonnie asked as she opened the car door. She suspected Damon had just said that to see what she might say. Then again …

"Stefan told me once that his father beat Damon when he was a teen," Elena said. "I don't know if that meant he punched him or whipped him. I suspect Damon was snarky as a kid just like he is now. He probably mouthed off to his father regularly."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that," Bonnie agreed as she got out of the car. She did not invite Elena into the house. "I better get all this into my computer. Thanks for going with me."

"I was glad to go with you, Bonnie," Elena said. She knew that normally they would have sat in Bonnie's house and talked about the genealogy thing, but Bonnie didn't seem inclined to do that. Elena took the hint and left.

Bonnie felt a bit guilty about that, but she just was not ready to forgive Elena for causing all sorts of problems. The best friend feeling was not there. Yet.

Her father was not at home when she turned on her laptop, but he arrived soon after with two bags of groceries.

"Did you talk to those two vampires?" he asked her. He sort of growled out the last word.

"Yes. They had some interesting things to say about Emily. However, they really didn't know anything helpful about Emily's mother except she died on a plantation near New Orleans. And she was a Bennett. Oh, and Emily likely had a child," Bonnie said. "I'll tell you, Dad, talking to Damon and Stefan, listening to them describe their family having slaves upset me. As kids they thought nothing of it. They didn't see that it was wrong."

"They were children, Bonnie. Most children have the attitude of the times they live in, the place they live in. The beliefs of their parents and their peers. And back in those days they didn't have the kind of mass media that we have today. We get all kinds of opinions and information. Who told those Southern children what to believe? Their parents, their teachers and their preacher, most likely."

"You condone what they were told?" Bonnie asked, frowning.

"About slavery? Of course not. And I don't like the bigotry some parents teach their kids today, either." Rudy was well aware that he had some biased opinions just like everyone else. His feelings about the Bennett use of witchcraft was one of them.

"Well, good," Bonnie said, not that she doubted her father. Then she went back to the ancestor subject. "There were a lot of years between Grams and Emily. I need to find out when Grams' mother was born, for instance. I wish I had discussed all this in detail with Mom and Grams."

"People always think of that after someone has passed on and they realize a lot of family information has been lost," Rudy said. "They ought to write out a family biography or even an autobiography. A lot of information could be put in it for future generations. Don't forget to contact your mother's sisters. Your Bennett aunts. They probably have information on the great grandparents."

"I will. Maybe they know something. Have you done that, Dad? The autobiography thing, I mean. Or your family history," Bonnie asked. She knew he had put together a brief autobiography, but she also knew it didn't have anything about his ancestors.

"Not to the extent I am talking about," Rudy admitted.

"I wish you would. I may actually get married some day and have kids. They might like to know about their grandfather and his background," Bonnie said.

"Hm," the man said as he put away the last of the groceries. "I suppose I should. Along with whatever I can remember about my own ancestors. And I still have some old letters tucked away somewhere. You know, with everyone these days doing all their corresponding on the computers and cell phones, there are not going to be any new letters. Those letter can tell a person a lot about the one who wrote them as well as about their family members. It's a shame, in a way. Look at all the history that has been gleaned from old correspondence."

"I guess you're right, Dad, but letter-writing is just not today's thing," Bonnie said. Although her father often had little to say and the two usually didn't have long conversations, she knew he had a lot to say once he got going on some subject he was passionate about.

"Well, in my opinion, it's a shame."

"You almost never wrote me letters when you were on your trips," Bonnie pointed out. "Just a postcard now and then. So, now you can make up for that by writing me your autobiography. Tell my about who you are and what you've been doing with your life. You and I hardly know each other, Dad."

Bonnie had never really considered that fact, but now she saw that it was true. Just how much did she really know about her father if someone were to ask her? "And include what you know about your parents, grandparents and great grandparents."

"All right. I think I will. Have you talked to your Aunt JD?" he asked.

"No, I haven't. I haven't seen her since Jordan's funeral," Bonnie admitted. Aunt JD was one of Abby's two sisters. Once Abby left the first time, there had not been much visiting or correspondence between the two branches of the family. Cousin Jordan, a bit older than Bonnie, had died. Bonnie knew the girl had been terrified of the magic. In addition, Jordan had been emotionally unstable. It was sad that she had died so young, but now she was in peace. Or at least Bonnie hoped so. There had been no indication that Jordan remained as a ghost.

Aunt JD was, of course, a Bennett witch. As far as Bonnie knew, the woman practiced the art as little as possible. Like Abby she had married and had a daughter. She also had three sons. Jordan had inherited the Bennett name. The three boys used the father's name, Anderson. Even the fact that her brothers had a different last name had disturbed Jordan. She had often told people her last name was Anderson, but she had not escaped the Bennett legacy. And it had driven her to her death.

Bonnie considered herself an emotionally stable person. She was strong and rational and could handle the power she had, for the most part. Still, it annoyed her no end to have her closest friends, and Damon, use her and her powers as they did. They told her, and she believed, that she was doing good things, that she was preventing evil from wreaking havoc. Or at least she tried. Sometimes, she failed or what she did was not enough.

It was probably no accident that she lived in Mystic Falls. The town and the immediate area had natural power in the form of lei lines. Some lines came together beneath the town and this created a magnet of sorts for supernatural beings like ghosts, vampires and werewolves. And witches. There seemed to be a constant struggle going on which most of the normal humans were unaware of. Up until two years ago, Bonnie had not known about this. Now she did. Did she ever!

A/N Thanks to all of you who reviewed. That is great. I hope you all found this chapter less controversial, even if it was partly about slavery. Comments?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"A Talk With Klaus"

Two days later Bonnie finally got up the courage to contact Klaus. She asked Stefan for the hybrid's phone number and he gave it to her. She was not surprised that he had it. When she called the number, she half-way hoped to get Klaus' voice mail. Instead, he answered.

"Klaus, this is Bonnie Bennett," she said a bit nervously.

"Ah, the lovely Miss Bennett," Klaus said with his smooth English accent.

Bonnie wondered why he had that accent when he supposedly had been born into a Norse settlement near Mystic Falls. Now, she didn't have to see him to know he had that amused smile on his face.

"And why might you be phoning me today?" he asked.

"I'm working on my family tree," Bonnie admitted, trying to keep her voice level. "I understand that there was a witch in your settlement when you were a child. A friend of your mother's. Is that right?"

"Yes, that's quite right. A _Bennett_ witch," he said, his voice containing a seductive element of temptation.

Bonnie didn't like that. It was as if he was trying to lure her to his house. Of course, she knew he was probably just teasing her.

"Can we meet and talk about that? I mean, I'd like to hear what you remember about her."

"I don't know why not. It's a rather interesting story, actually," Klaus said. "Do come by my house any time this evening. I'll be here."

"I'd rather meet you some place in public, Klaus. In daylight," Bonnie said. Stefan had suggested that and Bonnie knew she would feel safer.

"Do I detect a note of distrust?" Klaus asked, this time his tone reflecting hurt feelings. False hurt feeling, Bonnie was sure.

"I would feel more comfortable in a public place. I think there _is_ a trust issue between us."

"Oh, all right," Klaus said with an exaggerated sigh.

They arranged a meeting to take place the next morning in the park that was the town square. To be on the safe side, Bonnie phoned Stefan and told him about the arrangement. He said he and Damon would be there to watch over her from a distance.

And so it was that she walked to a bench in the town square, choosing one that was out in the open. She knew the brothers were on the sidewalks in front of the stores, one on one side of the square, one on the other. They could each see her. They were not hiding because they figured that Klaus would know that Bonnie was not alone.

At the appointed time Klaus came sauntering into the park and over to the bench. Bonnie watched him. If it were not for the fact that he was what he was, she would have acknowledged that he was handsome, for a blond white man.

"May I?" he asked, indicating the space beside Bonnie.

"Yes," she said. One thing you had to say of him, he had manners. She was very wary of him, but he seemed the perfect gentleman as he sat down on a bench. He left a space between them. Each of them kept an eye on people walking around because they didn't want to be overheard.

Not only did she distrust him, but she knew the Original had reasons to distrust and resent her. After all, she had recently worked with his mother to try to destroy him. She wondered if he was wary of her or if he thought of her as just an annoyance who had seriously interfered with his plans. And then there was the fact that she had almost gotten him killed during the sacrifice ritual back in the spring.

Nevertheless, he seemed willing to talk about the distant past.

"Please tell me about the witch," Bonnie said.

"If I may, I would prefer to start with an explanation of why my family was here so long ago in what is now Virginia," Klaus said. "My parents told me and my siblings the story."

When Bonnie didn't object, he continued.

"There were three boatloads of Norse settlers who came south along the coast around the year 1011," he said to Bonnie. "They had traveled farther south than other Norse expeditions, coming to what is now the Virginia coast. They then sailed inland for a ways under the guidance of both the Bennett witch and Esther, my mother, because the two women had felt the power line in the earth that would lead them to this area.

"Our group of settlers and explorers consisted mostly of Norsemen, but there were other Europeans. The man Bennett was one of them. He had a wife and a son. My father Mikael, of course, had his wife Esther, my mother," Klaus explained. "Elijah was an infant born on the voyage. Mother was a brave and determined woman and didn't let a pregnancy stop her from accompanying her husband. All the Vikings' women were brave.

"The ships could not come this far inland, of course. They were left at one point and the settlers trekked along until Mother and the Bennett witch declared this was the place. Cabins were erected. More supplies from the ships were retrieved. Every effort was made to establish a friendly relationship with the native people. We Norse called the natives Skraelings, which was not what they called themselves, of course.

"We had not been in the area very long when two more groups of people arrived. There were six people among them who were werewolves. Three men and their wives. They had quite a few children over the years. All of them carried the werewolf trait. If anyone of them killed another human, then it activated the trait and they turned every full moon. Since we were often in conflict with the native people, it happened to almost every one of them when they reached the age of fourteen or fifteen, especially the males who were more likely to kill a native. The settlement's relationship with the native people deteriorated over time, needless to say.

"As you know, my mother had a brief affair with one of those werewolf men and she bore me, a carrier of the trait. She used a spell to keep my werewolf side suppressed, even when I finally killed a man to defend myself.

"But to go back to your question about the Bennetts, I think Ayanna was the name of Bennett's wife. She was usually referred to as Bennett's Wife. He called her Wife, but I think my mother called her Ayanna or something like that. These were white Europeans although Bennett's Wife was somewhat darker than we northern European. I would not swear that she carried African blood. There were no real Africans among us.

"After Bennett died from an accident, she was still referred to as Bennett's Wife. As you can guess, the Bennett name stuck. Bennett's daughters Grace and Celesta also carried the witch's power. Celesta died very young of disease. Grace, called Bennettsdottir, survived. She married one of the sons of a Norseman.

"I know she and her husband had five children, two of them girls. Bennett's grand daughters. I know that they sailed with us when we eventually left this area and this continent. That was some months after my mother turned us into vampires. Great conflict had erupted between the werewolves and us vampires. We lost my smallest brother Henrik to the werewolves. In a way it was my fault. Everyone blamed me. I won't go into that.

"The situation with the native people had also worsened. It was decided that we had to leave. Not just Mikael's family, but a lot of us. Even the werewolf families.

"Forty years had passed since the arrival of the group on these shores and the old boat hulls down river had not been kept up well. Those that could be repaired were and two new ships were built. Supplies from the old ships had been saved, including much wood, the sails and oars. Finally we all left, except for a few of the werewolves. I think they perished, but I'm not sure.

"The Bennett witches were among those of us who sailed north up the coast that summer, even surviving a hurricane. We went to Greenland and then Iceland and eventually some of us went on to Europe. We had to stop and go ashore many times for food, water and to feed. It had been agreed that we would never reach the homeland if we killed each other. Almost all of the travelers made it, which was a miracle.

"Obviously, many of the myths about vampires crossing water or needing home soil were not true for us. We learned early on after Mother created us that the odd wooden stake or arrow did not kill us. We also found that the wood of our village white oak was dangerous. Even splinters or the smoke from its wood if used in a fire hurt us. So we burned it down. Needless to say, we stood upwind of the smoke.

"In the long run, all of our family made it to Europe where we prospered. And the Bennett line of witches obviously continued," Klaus said with a smile.

"That is an incredible story. And an incredible journey," Bonnie said, amazed. "So, that was the beginning of the Bennett witches. Mr. Bennett was a white European man."

"Yes," Klaus said. "Although, of course, Bennett's Wife had ancestors, too. The witch line probably goes back before then. Bonnie, I didn't know what happened to the Bennetts for a long period of time, but I know that when I ran into one again three hundred years later in what is now Kenya in Africa, it was obvious that the person was a mix of European and African blood. A lot of African. But the Bennett name persisted as did the witch tradition.

"My guess is that some time after that, at least one of the Bennett witches, and there were probably several, was living in western Africa and ended up being captured and sent to the Americas to become a slave. Perhaps in the 1700's. And that, my dear, is all I know."

Bonnie looked at Klaus, amazed at what he had told her. She wondered if he knew more and was keeping it to himself. It didn't matter. Although there were gaps in the line of descent, she now knew a whole lot more about her ancestry than she had ever guessed. From a thousand years ago! The Bennetts were survivors.

"I appreciate that you have taken the time to tell me this, Klaus," she said, looking at his blue eyes. "I know you don't care for me and I wasn't sure you would meet with me."

"You are a lovely young lady, but how can I find you likeable, love, when you persist in foiling my plans?" the blond man said with a smirk. "I do admire you, however. A girl of what? Seventeen? Eighteen? You are brave and a powerful witch. The Bennetts of the past are proud of you, I'm sure."

"I'm doing the best I can," Bonnie assured him.

A/N I hope you all found Klaus' story reasonable. I don't believe there has been any real proof that the Vikings came as far south as Virginia, but maybe so. Who knows?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N I love the response to this story. I know a few people are not comfortable with what I wrote, but for the most part the reviews are positive. I want to thank Dioramanya (guest) for the comments and feedback. I appreciate that.

"Originals?"

A new thought occurred to her. She paused as she looked into his blue eyes and debated what to say. The sun was shining on his face, making his light blond beard stubble shine. The blond hair on his head was much darker, almost a light brown. His skin was somewhat pale, but his lips were a bright pink. She suspected he had already fed this morning. She told herself to be bold and ask her question.

"You and your siblings call yourselves the Originals. And yet there have been tales of vampires from much earlier times. How do you explain that?"

"We are 'Originals' in that Esther created us with a strong spell. We are not descended from any other vampire. We don't carry any other line of vampire blood. It's possible that we were the only vampires in the Americas at that time. Even if not, our line is quite original."

"So, there are other lines of vampires in the world?" Bonnie asked, although she was fairly sure there must be if tales of vampires went back to ancient times. It was not a pleasant thought.

"Yes, quite so," Klaus said, a smile touching his lips. "Members of our family have certainly turned a fair number, I dare say. Each of us turning the odd one here and there as the mood hits us. But there were vampires of one kind or another in the Old World way before us. I suppose that is where Mother and the Bennett witch got the idea of making us immortal, although Mother didn't expected us to be blood-thirsty killers of other human beings. The spell she and Ayanna cast didn't touch on that aspect. Mother was quite alarmed when she realized what we were doing."

"I should think so. She should have never done that to her children," Bonnie said, shaking her head. "About the old European vampires, what did you mean, 'one kind or another?' How many kinds are there?"

"All vampires are not alike, my naïve little witch. Many of the myths come from contact with lines much older than ours, as we have already mentioned. And they are not myths for some. A few lines of them are most pathetic." Klaus' tone was derisive and a look of disgust touched his face for a moment. "We, on the other hand, tend to be quite civilized and can pass ourselves off as humans surprisingly easily. Being impervious to sunlight is especially helpful."

"Well, that's true," Bonnie said with a small snort. Despite his smile, his wealth and his gentlemanly manner, she did not kid herself. She knew he could become a beast and kill her easily. She suspected that her friendship with Elena somehow was a bit of protection, because Elena was so important to Klaus. Or her blood was. In any case, it was best that she keep a calm, determined look on her face as if he didn't scare her.

"I'd like to ask another question," she said. Why not, while she had the chance?

"By all means do," Klaus said with a little laugh. He was enjoying himself.

"If you and your siblings are Norse, why do you all have English accents?"

"Actually, we don't all have the same accent. People who are good at it can hear the difference," Klaus said. "We have traveled around the world, living here and there. It's true that we spent quite a bit of time in England early on and also have done so since, and we became rather good with that accent. But we each have lived in many lands and we quite easily pick up the tongue of wherever we are.

"My two youngest siblings actually have quite a touch of Australian, which originated in a part of England, of course. Now, it's true that I daggered each of my siblings and kept them in coffins, but it was before that time that they traveled so much. After all, Mikael was out to get us, as Mother had commanded.

"And there were times that I let one or another out of the coffins. In particular, I spent considerable time with Elijah and Rebekah. As for why we use the English accent, I rather like the sound of it. I'm comfortable with it. When the family is together, as we are here in America, we use it because you Americans seem to find the accent represents a more cultured class, don't you agree?"

Bonnie could tell he was mocking her a bit, and his expression was happily amused. If it were not for the fact that she disliked him and feared him, she would have enjoyed laughing with him.

"I suppose that's true. But American English, when spoken correctly, is just as cultured," Bonnie insisted, defending her own native tongue with her Virginia accent. "I suppose you can speak that, too."

"Oh, yeah. If I felt like it," Klaus said, and he sounded just like Matt Donovan.

Klaus glanced at the clock tower on the court house. It was almost eleven o'clock. "May I buy you a drink, Miss Bennett? A soft drink, perhaps? An early lunch?" he asked. He smiled when he saw the surprised look on her face.

"Uh, no thank you," Bonnie said. She didn't trust him an inch. She had done some serious things against him and he knew it. "I appreciate your taking the time to tell me all this. I know you didn't have to."

Klaus stood up from the bench and faced her. "Oh, it was fun. I so rarely get the opportunity to tell of my family's early days. And here. I made a couple of notes on the Bennetts, in case you didn't take notes or record what I had to say." He handed her a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

Bonnie had not taken notes nor had she recorded him. All right, so he came prepared, while she had failed to do so. She gratefully took the paper and slipped it into her jacket pocket.

"Thank you again."

"I'm sure sometime you can do something for me," Klaus said with his usual enigmatic smile.

Bonnie thought his tone was pleasant enough, but it could almost be a veiled threat.

"All right, then. I'm pleased I was able to enlighten you about your ancestors. And you can tell your friends, who are so intently watching me, that I didn't intend you any harm here," he said with a smile and a raised eyebrow. He gave her a slight bow before turning and walking away to his car.

Bonnie took a deep breath, glad the talk was over. She stood and walked to where Stefan and Elena sat outside the Grill. She soon saw Damon walking toward them from the other side of the square. The four of them settled at a table inside the Grill and had something to drink. Bonnie's mouth was really dry.

Bonnie told them that Klaus had told her some incredible things about his past and her ancestors, which she could not reveal here in this place. There were still holes in the Bennett ancestry line, but a huge part had been filled in. She was amazed and she felt very connected to the past.

She knew that when it came to doing a genealogy chart she was supposed to include birth, marriage and death dates, plus some other data. There was so much that she didn't have yet, but she suspected that a lot of persistent searching of sources would likely yield a good deal of information. She looked forward to doing it. Unfortunately, the problems of the present, including Klaus and his kin, took up much of her time, besides going to school.

A/N Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to talk to someone who had lived in the past and knew something about our ancestors? For those of us who have looked a bit into our family trees, I know it can be hard to find bits of information, many hours on the computer. Hope you all liked Bonnie's chat with Klaus.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A/N Thank you all for reading and commenting. Some of you are bothered by Bonnie's attitude. I am not always pleased with it either. She is certainly not perfect, neither as a teen nor as an African American. Please be patient with her.

"Conflicted"

When Bonnie went home she found her father sitting at the computer. She asked him what he was doing. He told her he was checking to see how his money was doing.

"And how is it?" she asked. She knew he had investments and an IRA so that even though he was not working now, he had reasonable money to fall back on. The truth was, so did she. Her grandmother Sheila had left funds for her and Bonnie was being prudent about spending any.

"Better. The Stock Market has gone up a little," the man said. "Did you talk to that hybrid monster Klaus?"

"Yes. I can't complain about his behavior. He was almost sickeningly nice. He told me some very interesting things. I have to assume he was not making it up," Bonnie said, plopping down on the couch. "I am worn out. Keeping my cool these days has been hard. You know how much I despise the vampires for what they are. And here I have had to sit with them and ask questions and listen to them. And I had to be nice doing it."

"Were they rude to you?"

"No," Bonnie said with a shrug. "The only one who likes to be rude is Damon. He is forever calling me 'Judgy' or 'Witchy.' He likes to goad me a little. Once in a while I get back at him. Give him a little ruptured aneurysm."

"A ruptured aneurysm? Does that hurt him?" Rudy asked with a frown.

"I'll say! I can bring him to his knees with it."

"That's cruel, girl! I don't like you being cruel."

"He's a _vampire_, Dad, a monster," Bonnie said, annoyed. "It doesn't matter."

"And here you are studying ancestors who were slaves and it rightfully bothers you that they were cruelly treated. Cruelty matters, Bonnie, no matter who or what it is directed toward. You're saying that the Salvatores and Mikaelsons are beneath you and you can be as rude or cruel to them as you feel like."

Bonnie looked at Rudy and they frowned at each other. There was no way she was going to compare herself to a slave owner or the vampires to slaves! She saw no comparison at all. It was a stupid idea. However, she didn't say so to her father. Still she felt a small tug of guilt that perhaps he was right about her being cruel. She had never thought of herself that way.

Not wanting to think about that too deeply, she completely changed the subject and she asked, "Aren't you bored? You've spent years traveling as a representative of that company and now you've quit and hang out here at home. Don't you want to be doing something?"

"I'm enjoying not working and traveling for a change. I'm enjoying getting to know my only child better," Rudy said. "Am I getting on your nerves or cramping your style somehow?"

"No. Of course not, Dad. I guess I just always think of you as being too busy to spend time around here," Bonnie said.

"Well, I guess I was. You know your grandmother and I didn't always get along. My work travel was an excuse not to have to face her all the time," Rudy admitted. "I know, you're also thinking that I used it as an excuse to avoid my parenting responsibility."

"Yes, I am thinking that," Bonnie said calmly. "At this point, I guess it doesn't matter. You're here now." Now that I barely need you, she added in her mind.

Bonnie knew the reason he and Sheila had not gotten along was because she was a witch and a strong-willed woman. Now, how well was he accepting Bonnie's ability? She would probably find out soon enough.

She looked at the piece of paper Klaus had given her. Why had she not thought to take notes or record the conversation? She frowned as she considered that she usually was better prepared.

"What's bothering you? You were so excited about this genealogy thing and now you seem a bit down."

"I'm not sure. I _was_ excited. I guess I still am. To tell you the truth, I feel, like, conflicted. I feel my heritage more now than I ever did. In this town I've never felt particularly different from my white friends. I'm African American and proud of it, but instead of a racial issue, it's been more like a nationality issue. You know like being of Irish or Italian or Chinese descent. So it's never been a real racial issue. Almost never, anyway.

"I'm not saying I don't feel outraged when something in the media points out big inequities or violence against us Black people. I'm not saying I don't feel pride over what Dr. King accomplished. I do, Dad. It's just that it isn't in my face every day. Do you see what I mean?" Along these lines was the fact that she didn't walk around with ear buds blasting her ear drums with rap music, some of it very racial and violent.

"It's probably this town and also the way you were brought up. We are a middle class family in a mixed middle class neighborhood. I could be wrong but I don't believe there is much of a racial clash here. What do you think?"

"About racial problems here? No, it's minimal, as far as I know. It's not a problem at school. Even most of the cliques at school are mixed," Bonnie said. "The cliques themselves are sometimes a problem, but for different reasons. I guess the genealogy search has just brought racial discrimination to my thoughts. What used to be."

"What still is, Bonnie. People are people. The past doesn't just disappear overnight with a change of laws. I was not alive during segregation, but Sheila was. Your grandmother …"

"Dad, let's not talk about it now. It's depressing," Bonnie said, interrupting him. "I just don't feel in the mood. You know what else irks me?"

"No, what?" Rudy said, not wanting to lay more racial issues on her at this time. He didn't want to start an argument and alienate her when he was trying to reestablish a good father-daughter relationship again.

"The way my closest friends use me and my powers! Every time they need to fix something, they call on me. It's always 'Bonnie, do a spell' or 'You can fix this, Bonnie.' Most of the time I can see their point, but sometimes I don't want to do it. Are they really my friends anymore, Dad, or is it just my abilities that they want?"

"Weren't they your friends before?"

"Elena and Caroline have been my friends forever. Elena's my BFF. Or she was. Now, I'm really ticked off at her. Mom would not be a vampire now if Elena had not gotten herself into another of her dire situations."

"I thought that Damon Salvatore did that to your mother."

"Oh, he did. But he did it to save dear Elena. He loves her. I can see it when he watches her."

"Isn't she his brother's girlfriend?"

"Yes, but he still has fallen for her. I mean, doesn't _everybody_ love Elena? So, he turned Mom to save her."

"Wouldn't you have tried to do something to save your best friend Elena?"

" I would have if I had known she was about die. I would have had to choose and I have no idea what I would have done. I certainly wouldn't have sacrificed Mom. I'd have found some other way. Damon claimed there wasn't time. I don't know if that was true. Anyway, he did it _his_ way."

"So, are you going to forgive Elena? Eventually?"

"I just need time and I don't know how much. No one better come to me and demand another spell. Not for a while," Bonnie said firmly and with a scowl on her face.

There was a drawn-out period of silence between them. Rudy decided it was prudent to turn back to the computer. He wanted Bonnie to think about things and work out solutions. Or compromises.

Bonnie got up from her seat and went to her room. She looked at the paper Klaus had given her. She decided to get on her laptop and enter this information about Ayanna Bennett and her daughter Grace. Was Grace too far in the past to track? Was there any information on the people who had left the area that was now Virginia that far back? Was mention of it in the existing Viking history? How could she find it?

How could she find information on the Bennetts who had moved to parts of Africa? How had they become mixed with the darker race? She had read somewhere that new studies of a person's DNA could pinpoint the various races and nationalities represented in a person's blood. What did it cost to have that done? Would it tell her what African tribes her ancestors had belonged to? Obviously, half her DNA came from her father. What about the female mitochondrial DNA? Did she really want to know such details?

She should probably concentrate on the gap between her more modern ancestors, the gap that led back to Emily and her daughter. What she really needed was someone who could show her how to use the various genealogy tools that were available. Probably Aunt Trisha already knew how to do that, how to guide her.

Bonnie realized that she could not tell Aunt Trisha about Mr. Bennett, his wife and daughter Grace. There was no way, at this time, that she could explain how she had come by the knowledge. As far as Bonnie knew, Aunt Trisha Bennett was a weak witch and didn't know any vampires. She led a "normal" life. In fact, if Bonnie were to mention Emily, Aunt Trisha would probably want to know her source. Oh, Aunt Trisha, it was just a vampire who lived back then who told me. No big deal. Maybe Aunt Trisha would be all right with that and maybe not.

A/N Okay, no more racial discussions. I suspect I can probably only get one, maybe two, more chapters for this story. We'll see. I would welcome suggestions; however, I don't want to go far afield from Bonnie's search for ancestors.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A/N Thanks again to you readers and reviewers. Bonnie gets a chance to interview Katherine here.

"Katherine"

Bonnie realized that she could not tell Aunt Trisha about Mr. Bennett, his wife and daughter Grace. There was no way, at this time, that she could explain how she had come by the knowledge. As far as Bonnie knew, Aunt Trisha Bennett was a weak witch and didn't know any vampires. She led a "normal" life. In fact, if Bonnie were to mention Emily, Aunt Trisha would probably want to know her source. Oh, Aunt Trisha, it was just a vampire who lived back then who told me. No big deal. Maybe Aunt Trisha would be all right with that and maybe not.

What she needed to do was to get to know Aunt Trisha better. They certainly knew each other to a certain extent, but discussions about their witches' abilities and about vampires had not really come up. Not until Bonnie knew more about how Aunt Trisha felt would she mention Klaus.

It was a short time later that Rudy knocked on the frame of her open door.

"I have something for you. I listed some of my ancestors," he said.

He crossed the room and handed Bonnie a sheet of paper. It was a diagram with names on it. It was sort of a pedigree chart which Bonnie had seen in a book she had bought on genealogy. She had also seen one on the Internet. Rudy was obviously familiar with the chart because he had hand-drawn one and filled in names.

"Thanks, Dad," Bonnie said, looking at it. "You have the names of your parents, grandparents and three of your great grandparents. That's nine names. If I put my name first and add Mom's, and Mom's parents and her grandparents, that's …" She took a minute to add to Rudy's sketch, although she didn't fill in the blanks. "That would be eighteen names. That's a lot."

"If you listed everyone back to include your own great, great grandparents I believe you would have forty one names, including your own. I counted them," Rudy said, looking over his daughter's shoulder.

Bonnie nodded in amazement. How would she ever find the pertinent information on that many people? "Looking at this diagram I can see how every generation going back doubles in number, since each person had two parents."

"A lot of people. Every one of us carries a real mixed bag of genes," Rudy said with a chuckle. "You may never be able to find all the names. A child may have been adopted and his biological parents unknown. Or a woman may have had a baby and never identified the father. And of course, there's the problem of slave records. Still, searching and collecting the information would be fascinating. It's something I've never done either."

"I guess I'll get what I can. I know this will take a lot of work. I'll have more time for it when summer comes and school is over. Dad, you _will_ still be here when I graduate, won't you?"

"I intend to be here," Rudy assured her. It was only going to be a matter of months.

It was eleven o'clock when Bonnie crawled into bed and turned out her light. It was ten minutes later when her cell phone rang. Wondering what disaster had occurred now, she reached for the phone on her bedside table and looked at it. The caller ID said it was Stefan.

"Stefan, what's up?" she asked.

"Katherine is here. She's not staying, but she said she would talk to you about Emily if you can come over here now."

"Yes, I can. I want to see what she has to say. Tell her to wait for me," Bonnie said, throwing back the covers and sitting up. In three minutes she was ready to leave the house.

"Where are you going at this hour?" Rudy asked from the sofa. He was reading a magazine now.

"Over to the Salvatores. A person I want to talk to is there now. I don't know how long I'll be, Dad," Bonnie said as she headed for the front door.

When she approached the big house she saw a car parked at the curb out front. Stefan's Porsche was in the driveway. Damon's Camero was not in sight. Good, she thought, I won't have to put up with him. She parked behind the dark Toyota and headed for the front door. Stefan opened it before she could ring the doorbell. He stood back and she walked in.

Bonnie was wary of Katherine. She was an "old" vampire and stronger than the Salvatore brothers. Bonnie already knew Katherine could ward off ruptured aneurysm headaches. It was important not to seriously annoy Katherine.

The young woman in question was sitting on the sofa in the study, drink in hand, long legs crossed. Although she seemed to be a twin to Elena, Bonnie knew her at a glance. Unless Katherine was pretending to have Elena's mannerisms, she was very different from her "twin." This was a woman with a crafty look in her eyes, a smirk on her pretty lips, and a way of moving which Bonnie labeled "slutty." On top of that, she was one of the undead.

Be nice, Bonnie told herself.

"Katherine, thank you for waiting to talk to me. Did Stefan tell you I was trying to learn more about my ancestor Emily?"

"Yes. Such a loyal person Emily," Katherine said, nodding. She patted the seat beside her on the couch and Bonnie sat down, turned somewhat to face Katherine.

Stefan asked Bonnie if she wanted something to drink and she said she would like a Coke.

To Katherine she said, "Stefan told me a bit about her. Some background that you had told him. Or Emily did. I think I have two areas of her history I wonder about. Who her mother was and where she lived and died. And also what became of the baby Emily had. I'm assuming I am descended from the baby."

Stefan handed Bonnie a glass with the soft drink in it and then he took a seat in a chair opposite the couch. He said nothing, but he watched the two young women with interest.

Bonnie took a sip of the drink. Her mouth was dry. Even though she was used to Stefan and even considered him a friend of sorts, she was very aware that she was alone in this house with two vampires, one of which she really distrusted. She set her glass down on the end table and took a small notebook and a pen from her purse.

"You don't mind if I take notes, do you. So I won't forget anything."

Katherine shrugged and shook her head slightly. "It doesn't matter to me. Whatever. You ready?"

"I'm ready," Bonnie said, pen poised like a secretary about to take notes.

Katherine took a sip of her drink and then began. "Stefan told me that he has already told you that I purchased Emily at an auction in New Orleans. She was pretty and the auction people had her clean and neatly dressed as a house servant. She had a certain air about her, a sort of subdued pride. I liked her right away.

"I didn't know when I first saw her that she was a Bennett witch. I had heard of them and I had met one years before. It was after I bought her that she insisted her full name was Emily Bennett. That was when I knew what I had.

"She was brave and didn't shy away from me when she realized what I was. Once I had won over her trust and loyalty, we became more friends than mistress and servant, although, of course, she did act as my servant and assistant. It was important, of course, that a young woman like myself not travel about unattended."

"Where was her mother? Was she where you bought Emily?" Bonnie asked when Katherine paused to sip her drink again.

"No. Her mother was dead. The woman's name was Marie Bennett. She had been at the same plantation where Emily had been. She had become ill and she died. Emily's father, by the way, was the plantation owner. A white man."

"So Emily was of mixed blood. Do you remember the name of the father or his plantation?" Bonnie asked.

"No. The place was near Lafayette, Louisiana. In what year? Hm. Let's see if I can remember. Emily was fifteen when I bought her in 1860. I think she told me her mother died three years before that. So that would be 1857. Does that sound right?"

"Depends on what time of year she died," Stefan said. "It could have been 1856. Research could turn up the name of the plantation because of when it was sold. Further research could find when the slave Marie Bennett died. Perhaps when and where she was bought."

"Do you think she was buried on the plantation?" Bonnie asked.

"Probably," Stefan said. "Unless the area had a slave burial ground."

Bonnie jotted more notes to what she had already. She took a swallow of her drink, then she looked into Katherine's dark eyes.

"Did Emily really have a baby?" Bonnie asked as Katherine sipped her drink.

"Oh, yes. Soon after I purchased her she told me she was pregnant. She had had an affair with a young slave on the same plantation. Rafe, I believe. He was killed in a fight with another slave. She had been fearful of what would happen when the master found out, but it never came to that because the man became ill and died.

"Emily and I were living across the river from New Orleans when the baby girl was born. That was in late fall of 1860. We had been moving around a lot, but that's where we were at that time. Emily feared that our life style was dangerous and that the baby would be in danger if she kept it.

We had made friends with a free woman of color, a voodoo witch. Madame Solange. In fact, the woman was at the baby's birth. After much thought and many tears, Emily decided to let the woman raise the child in a reasonably safe environment. The baby's name was Sheena Bennett. Was that not the name of your grandmother, also?"

"No, not quite. Grams name was Sheila," Bonnie said. She wondered if any of the witches were named after a previous one or if each had to have a different name. How would a woman like Emily know what names Bennetts had had a century or two before?

"Did Emily keep track of the baby Sheena?" she asked.

"In a way. Emily wrote letters now and then to the voodoo woman."

"Do you remember her name? The voodoo woman's?" Bonnie asked.

"Solange Arceneaux. She was African, but had a French name."

"How do you spell that?"

Katherine spelled both the first and last name slowly with a condescending tone of voice.

"Thank you. After you left Mystic Falls and after Emily died, did you ever hear anything more about Sheena Bennett?"

"Actually I did," Katherine admitted. "Around 1895, thereabouts, I ran into a young woman of color named Trixie Bennett. She was a maid in a house I was visiting. That was in Charleston, South Carolina. I didn't get to know her well, but we had a chat. She looked a bit like Emily so I asked her about her background. She told me her mother was named Sheena. She also told me Sheena had died just the year before while on a boat that sank just off shore after a trip to Savannah, Georgia. Sheena had a son living in Savannah.

"Of course, I didn't mention that I was a vampire and had known her grandmother Emily and had seen her mother born," Katherine said. "I also didn't ask if Trixie was a practicing witch. Or if she even knew that she was one. Oh, and one other thing. Miss Trixie was about seven months pregnant."

"Oh,wow! So she had a baby in what? 1890? Probably in Charleston?" Bonnie asked with enthusiasm. Had Aunt Trisha mentioned Charleston?

"I don't know, missy," Katherine said, amused by Bonnie's reaction. "I think that is about all I know about your line of witches. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have places to go."

"Thank you so much, Katherine, for all this information," Bonnie said, and she meant it.

"You're welcome." With that, the female vampire stood and walked over to Stefan. She boldly leaned down and planted a kiss on his lips. Then with a grin on her face she left the room, turning in the hall toward the rear of the house.

Bonnie stared at Stefan. He shrugged and looked embarrassed. Bonnie didn't want to know what the present relationship was between Katherine and him.

"I better get home. Thanks, Stefan, for arranging this meeting. This is great information." She put the paper and pen into her purse and stood up.

"You're welcome. No problem," Stefan said and he walked her to the door. As he opened it, Damon stood there, hand out toward the doorknob.

"Well, hello, Judgy," he said with a grin.

Bonnie eased by him and out onto the porch. "Hello and goodbye, Damon," she said and she headed down the stairs to the walkway.

"Nighty night. Sweet dreams," he called after her and there was a teasing tone to his voice.

Bonnie let her breath out in a huff and unlocked her car. What a relief to be heading home safely. And how exciting to have garnered such wonderful information on four of her ancestors! Marie, Emily, Sheena and Trixie! Now she needed to look for that Charleston information Aunt Trisha had mentioned.

A/N It would certainly be nice if those of us who have looked into our family tree could talk to "old" people the way Bonnie has. Comments?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A/N Thank you to all you readers and commenters. I love you guys.

"The List"

When she got home from the Salvatore house her father was still up. He was in the kitchen turning off the lights.

"You look pleased," he said. He didn't say he was relieved to see her home safely, but he was.

"I am. I got some more information on the line between me and Emily. The vampire Katherine was at the Salvatore house and she told me some things. Not only about Emily, but about Emily's daughter and her mother. Plus, she even met Emily's grand daughter in Charleston one time. I am wondering if that is a person Aunt Trisha mentioned. If it is, then the line is complete between me and Emily."

Rudy grinned at his daughter's enthusiasm.

"Do you have that info Trisha gave you handy?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm going to check it out now," Bonnie said, heading for her bedroom.

"Don't forget it's a school night," Rudy reminded her.

"I know, but I need to look at the names first."

In her room Bonnie sat at her desk and looked at the paper where she had taken notes while talking to Aunt Trisha. And there it was! Ketsia, born 1890 in Charleston. Bonnie took a pencil and wrote in the names Katherine had given her. The list was complete from herself back to Emily's mother.

It showed Bonnie, born 1994,daughter of Abigail (Abby), born 1976, daughter of Sheila, born 1950, daughter of Bonnetta, born 1920, daughter of Ketsia, born 1890(?), daughter of Trixie, born 187?, daughter of Sheena, born 1860, daughter of Emily, born 1845, daughter of Marie.

Bonnie could see there was an inconsistency in the dates, especially about Ketsia. When she has talked to Katherine, she thought the vampire had said she met Trixie around 1895. But for some reason Bonnie had written 1890 on her paper. Why had she done that? Was it because Aunt Trisha had said 1890? Was it because Bonnie's witch's ability had put that date in her mind? Was Katherine off a few years in her memory of the meeting with Trixie? Was Aunt Trisha mistaken?

In addition, Katherine had not mentioned how old Trixie was when she talked to her, only that she was a young woman. Bonnie assigned the 1870's to her. Hopefully she was not younger than 15 years old when she gave birth to Ketsia.

One thing Bonnie had read in the book on genealogy was that information could be wrong. The spelling of names could be different. The dates of births, marriages and deaths could be wrong if based on people's memories. Certificates of the births, marriages and deaths were much more reliable, _if_ they were really the persons one was looking for. Of course, at this point, Bonnie had none of those records. It would take work to find and collect them.

Nevertheless, it was exciting what she had. She could see that some of the mothers, like Emily, Sheena and Abby, were teenagers when they gave birth. Also, this list gave no indication of how many children the women had had nor how many of them may have been girls. Any of the girl children could have carried on the witch line.

And, of course, she had no specific information on the people Klaus had told her about. It was doubtful that she could ever find out who the person was who came from Africa on a slave ship. For all she knew, maybe more than one Bennett woman came on such a ship. Despite the tenacity of the women to hold onto the Bennett name, it still could have been lost here and there. It was incredible that it had managed to endure for a thousand years.

She wondered if it was possible for a son to pass on to his daughters the witch trait from his mother. Was it also possible for a son to have it, such as Luka's father had? The male witches, or warlocks, had to get the trait from somewhere. From their mothers, most likely.

What had become of the descendants of Ayanna and Grace? How many generations had there been in Europe before they appeared in Africa when Klaus had run into one who was a black woman? Perhaps that information will never be available to me, Bonnie thought.

Finally feeling sleepy, Bonnie changed into her pajamas again and crawled into bed. As her father had said, in just a few hours she would have to get up and go to school.

The next day she ran into Stefan at school and told him about connecting all the names and dates. She didn't bother to mention the confused dates about Trixie and Ketsia. Stefan seemed pleased that she was so enthusiastic about her finds. When she saw Elena in class, she briefly told her that she had obtained more info from Katherine, but she didn't encourage a long discussion with the girl. Bonnie was beginning to feel guilty about shunning Elena's friendship. She needed to think about forgiveness. Was she ready yet?

That afternoon she also worked on the information Rudy had given her. He had come up with a couple more names after talking to one of his uncles. Bonnie had a piece of yellow poster board which was much larger than a sheet of regular paper. She carefully drew out the

pedigree diagram, this time leaving room for both her father's side of the family and her mother's side.

She carefully filled in the names on the appropriate lines and underneath each she wrote any dates she had of birth, marriage, death. She included places of each where she had the information. The names included first herself. Then her two parents Rudy and Abby. Then her four grandparents: William Hopkings, who married Cecilia Brown; and Clive Jackson, who married Sheila Bennett.

Then came eight great grandparents: Rudolph Hopkins, who married Ann Williams; George Brown, who married Wilma Birch. And Steven Jackson, who married Lilly Washington; Douglas Wilson, who married Bonnetta Bennett.

Of her sixteen great, great grandparents, Bonnie had Marcus Hopkins, but not his wife's name. She had Willie Williams, and his woman Bess, last name ? On Abby's side, she had Steven Jackson's father Amos, but not his wife/woman's name. And there was Ketsia's name, but no other great, great grandparent. She had no idea who sired Bonnetta, Ketsia or Trixie. Someone named Rafe was Sheena's father.

Without a lot of research, Bonnie could not add more names except the Bennett line of women. And it would take a lot of research to find information on many of the names she had. Nevertheless, she was very pleased with the information she had. It gave a real feeling to her background, of where she came from. None of the people she had listed were white people, as far as she knew. However, she herself had light mocha skin, so someone in the last one hundred years had been white, she figured, and it had been before Sheila.

So, here she was, a part of all these people. Amazing!

A/N I am not going to go further with this. It just involves a lot of research and detective work on Bonnie's part. Perhaps her father and aunt would help.

If a person knew where someone lived at the time of a census, those listings can be searched on the computer. The husband, wife and children will be listed with ages, plus any relatives living with them.

There are many sites on the computer to search. Free sites include Family and RootsWeb. Also Find A Grave if you know what town or cemetery. is very good, but it is not free. Many libraries with genealogy sections have access to Ancestry.

Birth, marriage and death certificates list age, place of birth and parents' names. So do most obituaries. If you have the names, dates and place, you can write for certificates. Catholic churches keep a lot of records, but you do need names and approximate dates. There are military records on some sites. GedCom (?) is a forum where someone might find advice.

Happy hunting if you get into this!

Comments on the story very welcome!


End file.
